Always You
by Immoroita
Summary: "Hannah Abbot had always known who she was, and who she was supposed to be. Until that damned Neville Longbottom came into her life and turned it upside down." Drabble. Hannah/Neville, hints of Neville/Luna.


Hannah Abbot had always known who she was, and who she was supposed to be. Until that damned Neville Longbottom came into her life and turned it upside down.

Before her mother, a very skilled Healer, had been killed by Death Eaters, she had come home every day after work, put her feet up before the fire, and, with a jolly smile, regaled her family with animated tales of the everyday happenings at St. Mungo's. Hannah still missed the warm, motherly presence, the comfortable, round face that had appeared at the door each evening, the little gifts that flew to her from far away, bringing nothing but good tidings and cheerful news of what was going on at home.

Somewhere in the middle of Hannah's sixth year, Professor Sinistra had strode briskly into Herbology and said to Hannah that she needed to have a talk with her. The Astronomy teacher had looked very grim indeed, so of course Hannah's nerves had immediately been set on edge. She still hadn't forgotten the feeling that she was wilting and crumbling into ashes when the horrible news had reached her ears - the lovely Mrs. Georgia Abbot had been murdered in her own bedroom.

She hadn't gone down without a fight though. Shards of what had once been perfume bottles had been found scattered on the floor and there were many scorch marks on the walls and on the floor. Like Hannah's mother had always told her, when you learned to treat a patient, you also learned how they had gotten the ailment - and since Healer Abbot had specialized in burns, she was particularly skilled in the fire department.

Although nobody would tell her straight, for fear of distressing her, Hannah had long ago guessed why the Death Eaters had targeted her mother specifically. It wasn't hard, really; Hannah suspected it had something to do with the highly publicized fact that her mother's restoring three Imperiused peoples' memories, and picking out three more Death Eaters who had hidden themselves cleverly. Thus, Georgia Abbot had become something of a martyr for Healers and aspiring Healers alike, and although she'd written down all her Healing methods in a carefully preserved, precious little notebook, the Death Eater who had targeted her had destroyed it, and all that was left was a pile of ashes.

Hannah had always looked up to her mother, had always seen her in the light of an angel, and from a very young age had vowed solemnly to follow in her mother's footsteps and help sick or injured wizards and witches. It was like fighting, in a way, but in a different way than shooting offensive spells out of your wand. No, Healing had always been the path that Hannah knew she was headed down; therefore Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts had been her top priorities all through her school years.

Besides that, she was determined to prove to everyone that Hufflepuffs were not necessarily useless and stupid. Her mother had been a Hufflepuff, and look what she'd accomplished in her life!

Despite everything, Hannah's eyes had always been firmly fixed upon her chosen career path. But, unbeknownst to her, she would never be a Healer, and even stranger than that, she would not be sad about it. And she had that damned Neville Longbottom to thank for it.

**one**

Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger's ditching school was both a tragedy and a joy to the student of Hogwarts - a bittersweet happening. It was a tragedy because there was no-one left to speak out against the Dark Arts and rebel against all the terrible things happening at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was a joy because at least they knew that the three of them were safe. They had to be.

One day, Professor Sprout partnered them off to trim the Venemous Tentaculas, a very hard and dangerous task, so Hannah was glad that Neville was her partner, as he was known for being the best Herbology student in their class. They sat in awkward silence for a long time before they finally managed to convince the plant that they had forgotten completely about it, this was the right way to deal with them, and when they felt the first tendrils of vines creep up to their shoulders Neville spun with extraordinary reflexes and wrestled the thorny vines back.

Hannah flew forth with a pair of secateurs and hacked viciously at them, snipping fiercely until they were all finally lying scattered on the floor. This was just the beginning of the onslaught, however, and Neville and Hannah still had much to cut off. As six more thorny vines shot out at them, Neville grabbed them all at once and squeezed them tightly. Hannah grimaced; she knew the thorns must be piercing his hands in a way that was almost unbearable. But as she watched him while she murdered the vicious plant, she realized that far from being scared, he was looking exhilarated. Although his face was red and sweaty, he looked quite ecstatic, and was quite glorified in Hannah's eyes at that moment.

After a further half hour of hard work, the Venemous Tentacula was finally pruned and the last little stumps of vines retreated mournfully back, they sat down and were able to breathe again. There was nothing but deep breaths for a while before Hannah, finally mustering up her courage, said: "You were very vicious with that plant; it almost made me feel sorry for it."

That made him laugh, and she realized pleasantly how nice his laugh was. "Ah, thanks. You weren't too bad yourself. I would have hated to be the Tentacula while you were there, cutting at them ferociously with that pair of secateurs."

That was all they said, for Hannah and Neville were both quite flustered for no apparent reason at that point, and Professor Sprout bustling over to congratulate them both heartily came as a relief. They were awarded twenty house points each for their excellent work, and Hannah saw, with some satisfaction, that they had finished first, and the rest of the class were still valiantly tussling with the relentless assault. It seemed that all the plants were throwing everything they had at their victims - who so happened to be the students.

"They should have finished quicker," Professor Sprout said, flustered, half to herself, and as she moved away to untangle Justin Finch-Fletchley from his Venemous Tentecula they distinctly heard her mutter: "Don't any of them _listen _to me? Didn't I tell them that the longer you go on with it, the most brutal they become?" And she tutted disapprovingly.

When Hannah left the lesson to shower, she felt happier than she ever had after her mother's death, and she did not have the faintest clue why.

**two**

For a while the students of Hogwarts lived under the tyrannical rule of Severus Snape, until hints of a rebellion were passed around, and although it was still a work in progress, there was no doubt that the person running it was none other than the cowardly Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom. So, of course, Hannah went to him and told him that she wanted to help, having a personal score to settle. She was tasked with recruiting new Hufflepuffs, and in the evenings she went around yelling ideas at her fellow Hufflepuffs.

Ernie Macmillan was the first to comply and come over to join them, although Hannah had an uncomfortable suspicion that it might be for different reasons. Something about the way he looked at her with an almost amusingly plaintive look in his eyes.

She hated to laugh at one of her oldest friends' obvious feelings for her, but it was just so _funny _for some reason. Hannah cared for him very much, but not in the way he did for her, and it was absurd to think that he - hell, _anyone _could love a girl like her. Plain, boring, _normal _Hannah Abbot. The Hufflepuff that sat in the corner, always did her homework, and never said anything. It must be a phase, and Ernie would stop loving her soon enough.

Soon enough, she'd gotten almost half the Hufflepuffs to see her way of thinking, and managed to speak to Neville another day in Herbology when Professor Sprout, who seemed to think they were an excellent example of perfect students, partnered them together yet again, to try and tame the Snargaluff pods 'just in case'. She edged up to him and whispered out of the side of her mouth as they tried to put a lid over the first bucket of jumping Snargaluff pods: "I've got half the Hufflepuffs on our side."

"That's great," Neville whispered back as he snatched a particularly excitable pod out of the air and pressed it back into the bucket. "Most of the Gryffindors are with us, and Luna reckons some of the Ravenclaws have joined."

Hannah frowned as she dumped a bucket it into a cart nearby. "Joined what?"

Neville wiped some sweat off his forehead and returned to his work. "The new D.A.," he said coolly, and Hannah immediately felt a little bit resentful. "How come I didn't know about this?" she said ruefully, trying to keep the slight anger from creeping into her voice. "I was one of the original members, wasn't I? How come none of us Hufflepuffs knew about this?"

He shot her an apologetic glance, and, turning back around, said quietly: "Well, I didn't know that you would all be interested, and well, you guys aren't that good at…"

Trailing off, Neville chanced a glance Hannah's way. She was staring at him incredulously, her face red with rage and a Snargaluff pod clutched so tightly in her fist that it was squealing in protest. The rest bounced out and scattered around the floor. Neville dove for them, but she caught him by the shirt and pulled him up. "Aren't good at _what?" _she hissed.

She felt a pang of regret. It served her right, she thought, for thinking that he might be different from the other Gryffindors, for thinking he wasn't arrogant or conceited and going on like he thought he was better than everyone else, just like the rest of them.

**three**

From that day on, Hannah avoided Neville's hopeful glances her way during D.A. meetings, turned the other way when she met him in the corridor, retained a frosty silence during Herbology lessons. Professor Sprout did not mind as long as their work together continued to be top of the class. But there was a barrier between them, and the fact that Neville was just another one of those people who thought Hufflepuffs were stupid and unworthy still stung at Hannah's heart like ice shards had pierced it.

And so the days passed in silence, with her speaking only to her friends and fellow Hufflepuffs and turning her back completely on Neville, who kept trying in vain to catch her eye. For a long time she was unsure of what she felt; she knew she ought to hate him, or dislike him at the very least, but she could not bring herself to do it.

It was only until the night before Harry had come bursting through Ariana's portrait that Hannah's very mixed up feelings were set at rest and she knew just what to do.

Ernie and she had been walking back down to the Hufflepuff common room. As they passed the kitchen, Hannah was thinking to herself what a bad idea this was, and it would be just perfect if he made a move on her right now. As a matter of fact, this was just what he was planning, and when he turned to her she was ready, and pushed him away before he could swoop forth and press his lips to hers.

"No, Ernie!"

Her voice sounded shrill and oddly hysteric, for Hannah Abbot never lost her temper. She was known for being levelheaded and patient, able to deal with almost anything, but this was too much for even her calm, organized self to handle. He stared at her with such bemused hurt in his eyes that she almost immediately regretted it. "Oh, Ernie, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't you love me?" These words, spoken in their frank, beseeching way, broke her heart more than if he'd yelled at her, or even physically hurt her. "No, Ernie," she said regretfully. "I care for you intensely, I swear, but not in the way you want. I am sorry."

Immediately he'd turned and fled down the stairs ashamedly, and she stood there, cold as a block of ice, thinking numbly about what she'd just done. She'd just broken the heart of one of her closest, oldest friends, but, thinking over it, even if she did want to love him back, she wouldn't be able to.

Because, as Hannah strode down the flight of stairs purposefully, determined to pretend nothing had happened, she knew one thing, and one thing only, however much it vexed her.

Neville.

Despite everything, she knew it was him. It didn't matter what he felt for her; he was definitely the only person she had ever grown to care for. There was something strange about him, too, a secret he was hiding. Hannah was determined to get to the bottom of it. And when Hannah Abbot was on the warpath, woe betide who stood between her and her goal.

**four**

The next time Hannah got a chance to speak with Neville was during the Battle of Hogwarts. After the long period of not speaking to him, she felt it would be awkward to suddenly go up and profess her feelings. So she looked for an opening to speak to him without it being difficult.

That opening came at a time that Hannah would never have expected. As Neville raced past her in the Battle of Hogwarts carrying a pile of Snargaluff Pods, a couple dropped, and Hannah, who had just knocked over a Death Eater, stooped to pick them up instinctively, and as she put them back in his arms, their eyes met, and memories of the Herbology lessons spent together flashed in their minds as they looked at each other.

Neville was the first to look away as he cleared his throat, and managed a smile at her. "Will you help me with these?"

"Why me?" Hannah immediately regretted the tone she used with these words; she sounded so cold and indifferent. Neville colored up and said brusquely: "Well, who better than my old Herbology partner? We know each others' styles well; we can easily cover for each other in the battle, I suppose."

There was a long silence, and Hannah finally smiled. "Okay."

They raced through the halls, scattering pods everywhere they could see Death Eaters, when suddenly they heard a scream in one of the ground floor classrooms. Neville's face turned white. "Luna!" was all he said before he hurtled down the corridor, leaving Hannah alone. A sinking feeling in her stomach was all she experienced before she had to fight off another Death Eater, and despite it all she felt glad that Neville knew love, and he would be happy.

She whirled and twisted, her wand dancing in her hand, as Death Eater after Death Eater fell at her hands, and none could believe that this was the meek Hufflepuff that sat in the corner, never spoke, and always did her homework. She was, in fact, so preoccupied with fighting Dolohov that she didn't notice Greyback leaping at her.

Suddenly, so quickly that Hannah didn't even notice it, Neville was there behind her, and he dealt a massive blow to Greyback with his fist, his wand splintered in half. Hannah gasped in surprise as Dolohov turned and ran, and Greyback fell with a thump. "Neville, what - " was all she said before he turned to her and asked, offhandedly: "Can I borrow your wand?"

"Sure," she stuttered, and before she could say anything further he hovered there awkwardly… and suddenly came and pecked her on her cheek. Hannah barely had time to look stunned before he said hurriedly: "You won't survive out here without a wand. Get to the Room of Requirement, just get out of here - "

"I will too survive out here!" Hannah burst out angrily, and snatched the wand back. "Go get one of your own from one of those Death Eaters, just don't use mine! I can handle myself, thank you very much, Mister Neville Longbottom!"

And, feeling very proud of herself, she turned and raced down the hall.

**five**

It was many years before Hannah saw Neville again. After the war her father had taken her home immediately, and only when she had turned twenty did he let her out of his sight. She, desperate for something to do, had signed up to be the new landlady of the Leaky Cauldron. Her Healer ambitions were soon behind her, and although she regretted it slightly, she loved her new job and wouldn't give it up for the world. She spent many a happy but lonely day there, and although many men tried to woo her, she did not put up with their advances, and turned her back on the world.

That is, until a familiar face came through the door one day, followed by a mane of dirty blonde hair and an unfamiliar man. Hannah stared, not quite believing it, as they walked up, and she and Neville stared until his face suddenly split into a wide grin. "Hannah!" he exclaimed, and he hugged her.

"Fancy seeing you here," Neville said as they sat by the bar. Hannah smiled a little. "Yes, I'm the new landlady. And hello to you too, Luna Lovegood, and you, Mister…?"

"Rolf, Rolf Scamander," he said pleasantly, and reached forward, shaking her hand heartily. "Oh, and it's Luna Scamander now. We got married this summer." He beamed at Luna, who smiled serenely. "Yes, Hannah," she said in her dreamy way. "We did, and the gnomes smiled up at us from their little hiding places in the grass. It was a lovely wedding."

Hannah's heart stopped and she sneaked a glance at Neville. He didn't seem perturbed by this, and suddenly her heart leaped. Did he not care for Luna after all?

Luna and Rolf both ordered butterbeer, retreating to a table to talk, but Neville just stayed at the counter and chatted with Hannah. They talked about the many things had happened in the last few years, and Hannah sneakily moved the conversation to Luna, the only person that Neville ever appeared to have cared for. Apparently Neville and Luna had had a summer fling after the war before they'd broken it up, because Luna's ditzy ways had started to get to Neville, much as he hated to admit it, and Hannah

Hannah and Neville talked for a long time, long after the Scamanders had left, long after everybody else had left, before they were the only ones left, save a few stragglers who lived upstairs in the rooms.

"So, 'bye, Hannah," Neville said regretfully as the clock chimed eleven thirty. "See ya."

"'Bye," she said in the same tone, and before she knew it, Neville had given her a kiss. It was a quick one, one that lasted for what had to be only a half-second, before he smiled embarrassedly and Disapparated.

And as Hannah stared at the spot where he'd vanished, a small smile blossomed on her face, illuminating it, and she realized that, despite her life's ups and downs, there would always be someone there for her. The warm, motherly presence of Georgia Abbot would always be with them, and somehow, just somehow, things were going to work out.

Hannah Abbot had always known who she was, and who she was supposed to be. Until that damned Neville Longbottom came into her life and turned it upside down.


End file.
